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Spencer Abraham and nuclear issues



Certainly the new Energy Secretary will shape much of what happens in
the nuclear industry as well as DOE nuclear-related operations.  Below
are three of the few articles I've found analyzing his nuclear-related
policies.  Most of the press has concentrated on his lack of experience
in energy-related issues, the potential for his allowing drilling in
ANWR, his poor environmental voting record, how he might address the
shortage/rising costs of petroleum products, and his previous attempts
to abolish DOE.

--Susan Gawarecki

NUMBER 1:

Nevada officials have mixed opinions about Abraham
San Francisco Chronicle online
Tuesday, January 2, 2001 
                                         
(01-02) 17:39 PST LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada officials had mixed opinions
Tuesday, splitting along party lines on whether former Sen. Spencer
Abraham would help keep nuclear waste out of Nevada if he becomes Energy
Secretary. 

Abraham, defeated for re-election to the Senate from Michigan, was
nominated to the Energy Department post Tuesday by President-elect Bush. 

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Abraham hasn't been neutral on the issue
of dumping nuclear waste in Nevada, and ``this bias raises genuine
concern about the prospects for a fair decision on the site's
safety and suitability.'' 

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., echoed Reid's statement. 

``Spencer Abraham has been a consistent supporter of the nuclear power
industry, and has an  established record in the Senate of voting for the
Yucca Mountain project without regard for the health and safety of the
people in my state,'' she said. 

Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site the
federal government is studying to bury 77,000 tons of the nation's
high-level nuclear waste. 

Reid and Berkley both were hopeful that Abraham would be unbiased in any
decision concerning Nevada. 

But Reid said Abraham's nomination calls in to question Bush's
commitment to a fair evaluation of Yucca Mountain. 

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., defended Bush. 

``President-elect Bush clearly understands Nevada's concerns on the
issue of nuclear waste.'' 

Bush has said he would veto legislation to allow temporary waste storage
and would insist that any decision on a permanent dump be based on
``sound science'' rather than politics. 

Gibbons said Nevada's congressional delegation will work to make sure
Abraham understands its united opposition to the nuclear waste dump. 

Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican, said he looks forward to working with
Abraham on the waste issue. 

He said he was certain Abraham ``will continue the position of
President-elect Bush to base any decision on nuclear waste storage on
science rather than political expediency.'' 

Nevada officials were relieved two weeks ago when former Sen. J. Bennett
Johnston -- author of the ``Screw Nevada'' nuclear dump measures --
withdrew his name from consideration for the energy post.

NUMBER 2:

EDITORIAL: Dump backer will be Bush's energy chief - Nominee has
consistently voted to support Yucca Mountain project
Wednesday, January 03, 2001
Las Vegas Review-Journal 

As a Republican senator from Michigan, Spencer Abraham left little doubt
about where he stood on the issue of Yucca Mountain. 

"A centralized waste storage facility must be located soon if the
Department of Energy is to have any hope of fulfilling its contractual
obligation to collect the spent fuel stored at over 100 facilities
around the country in the next decade," he said in 1997 while explaining
why he supports storing the nation's nuclear waste in the Nevada desert.
"Michigan needs the DOE to fulfill this obligation. My state has four
nuclear plants." 

On Tuesday, President-elect George W. Bush announced he was nominating
Mr. Abraham -- who was defeated last year in his re-election bid -- to
run his Energy Department. 

This is not great news for Nevada -- but, in fact, it's doubtful that
any nominee from either political party would have been. Both Democratic
and Republican administrations have pursued the construction of a
nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of
Las Vegas. In the recently completed election, the Green Party's Ralph
Nader was the only presidential candidate to come out against the
project. 

Keep in mind that Bill Clinton's first energy secretary, Hazel O'Leary,
was an executive in the nuclear power industry -- among the most vocal
proponents for storing high-level nuclear waste in Nevada -- when she
was selected to head the department. 

Regardless of Mr. Abraham's enthusiasm for Yucca Mountain, he must still
take direction from Congress and the president. Mr. Bush has previously
assured Nevadans that science, not politics, will determine the future
of both long-term and interim storage plans -- and that the EPA, not the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, should set safety standards. Those are
positions favorable to dump opponents -- and the same concessions
offered by Al Gore in the recent campaign. 

In addition, Nevada's congressional delegation will continue to work in
unison to block efforts to send waste here on an interim basis, which
for all intents and purposes amounts to a back-door attempt to
circumvent the science going on at the Yucca Mountain site. 

If nuclear waste does eventually come to Nevada, it won't be due to any
single act, but to a series of politically motivated events in motion
for almost two decades that has been sanctioned by politicians and
presidents of both major parties.

NUMBER 3:

Reid: Bush choice for energy no friend of Nevada
By Jennifer Crowe
Reno Gazette-Journal
Wednesday January 3rd, 2001

News of President-elect George W. Bush’s choice to lead the Department
of Energy drew mixed response from Nevada state and congressional
leaders Tuesday.

Former Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham, 48, is the nominee as secretary of
the  Department of Energy -- the federal agency evaluating Yucca
Mountain to determine its feasibility as a permanent home to the
nation’s tons of high-level radioactive waste. 

In words echoing the 2000 presidential campaign, Democrats say Abraham
could spell bad news for Nevada. Republicans insist Bush will keep his
promise to decide the fate of a dump at Yucca Mountain on science, not
politics.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., worked with Abraham in the Senate and said the
Michigan Republican “voted against the interests of Nevadans on numerous
occasions.” Abraham was elected in 1994, after Congress passed the
so-called “Screw Nevada bill” that designates Yucca Mountain as the only
potential site for permanent radioactive waste storage.

Reid said Abraham’s selection calls in to question Bush’s promises to
Nevadans for an unbiased study on the proposed dump.

“Spencer Abraham is not someone who has been neutral on the issue of
dumping nuclear waste in Nevada,” he said.

However, Reid did not say he would fight Abraham’s confirmation in the
Senate as he did when Bush floated former Louisiana Sen. Bennett
Johnston’s name for the job. 

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Reno, said Abraham still faces confirmation by the
Senate. But should he get the job, Gibbons said all of Nevada’s
congressional delegation would talk to him about the state’s opposition
to the permanent dump.

“President-elect Bush clearly understands Nevada’s concerns on the issue
of nuclear waste.” Gibbons said. “It is my hope that Sen. Abraham is
aware of the commitment the Bush-Cheney ticket made to Gov. (Kenny)
Guinn during the campaign.”

Guinn agreed that Abraham’s nomination doesn’t indicate Bush is backing
away from his promise to voters.

“I’m certain that Secretary-designate Abraham will continue the position
of President-elect Bush to base any decision on nuclear waste storage on
science rather than political expediency,” Guinn said.

Nevada’s lawmakers are keeping a close eye on the department since a
memo was discovered suggesting bias in favor of locating the permanent
dump at Yucca Mountain. Department of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson
supported the request for an investigation, which the department’s
inspector general granted last month.
.....................................................
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
                       -----                       
A schedule of meetings on DOE issues is posted on our Web site
http://www.local-oversight.org/meetings.html - E-mail loc@icx.net
.....................................................
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